Can't stand the heat
by supremesonic
Summary: The Marble Zone. What seems to be a simple hunt for a chaos emerald plunges Sonic into something much bigger, resulting in a battle against lava and a race against time. Will Sonic be able to survive? Or can he not stand the heat?


"Getting closer…"  
The chaos emerald in Sonic's hand was shaking almost violently now, almost as if it was willing itself to break free of his grip – A sure sign that another was to be found nearby, as sonic noted… He knew enough about collecting them by now to know that. Glancing up from the red glow that it was creating, he glanced around his surroundings, looking for any sort of sign that could lead him to his goal. Nothing worth noticing… The crumbling ruins of the Marble zone looked no different than any other day, with the bubbling pits of lava and Eggman's robots moving about in the distance being the only thing worth paying any attention to. Sonic sighed. He was bored – There was only so much walking round aimlessly he could take before he wanted to break free and run fast. While considering if there was any way to mark this spot and run back to it later, however, sonic felt the grassy ground crumbling beneath his feet...

"Whoa, what the…?" sonic yelped, hopping round as a pit opened up beneath his feet. But it was too later – With an almighty crack the ground gave way, and sonic found himself tumbling into the abyss…  
"Aaagh!" Sonic yelled as he toppled through the darkness. The emerald, clenched tightly in his hand, threw an eerie glow on the walls as he fell, and sonic was sure he noticed a few skeletons and robot shells caught on the wall spikes as he tried to control his fall. Guess this might be it, he thought… Typical, endless fights against Eggman and I die at the hands of the simplest thing...

But as soon as the darkness had started, it stopped. Sonic found himself crashing painfully onto a stone platform, in a chamber filled with stone carvings and lava. He stood up slowly, wincing and dusted himself off while glancing round. It was a strange place – Tiny rocks jutted out over a sea of lava, and he felt the heat beating against him, even from the relative safety of the platform he was standing on. Looking for a way out, however, his eyes fell upon something that made him feel slightly better about the whole affair… A blue glow, in an alcove in the wall at the far end of the hall...  
"The chaos emerald!"

With the joy still in his heart, and the emerald still shaking madly in his hand, sonic planned out what he knew he must do. From platform to platform, moving fast in case some of them started sinking, he could plot his way across, lend on a final slab sticking out the wall and grab his prize. It wouldn't be the easiest thing ever, but he lived for this sort of thing… With a small smile, he took his first jump and landed uneasily on a small, sharp rock. It was lower down than the platform he had been standing on, and the lava almost rose up onto his sneakers. No time to hang around, either… The stone was sinking beneath his feet. With a flurry of jumps, sonic skilfully carved a path across the chamber, hardly batting an eyelid as the heat continued and the risk rose with each jump. Suddenly, near his target, he messed up a jump and landed awkwardly on a tiny stone, barely enough to stand upon.  
"Whoa whoa WHOA!" sonic yelled, wobbling on the edge and trying to stay on his feet. In one last desperate bid for success, he lunged forward and landed almost face first onto the cold slab of stone, smashing into the wall in the process. The chaos emerald in the alcove wobbled, toppling out and falling neatly into his free hand. That had been close… But he had done it.

Almost instantaneously, however, the chamber rumbled, seemingly unhappy its prize had been taken from its grasp. Chunks of stone fell from the roof, the whole place shook as sonic held on for dead life, and then with a slow realisation he noticed something else… The lava level was rising, slowly but surely.  
"A trap…" sonic muttered, pocketing the emeralds. "Should have seen that one coming!" There was no time to worry over this error, however… In the small time that had passed already, the molten death had almost reached his feet. The only way was up, he thought, staring back at the wall behind him… Rocks stuck out from the wall at strange angles, and vines and holes in the roof were also noticeable on the roof above him. No choice – with no time to spare, sonic started scrambling up the wall. The lava raced after him, as he clumsily climbed up and up, looking for footholds and anything else that could help. Not my style, he cursed, not my style…

The lava was still close behind him as he reached the roof. Sonic scanned for a path to the hole he had fell through, but when time was short there was little he could actually plan for… He grabbed the first vine and swung, his toes skimming the lava as he rose, let go suddenly and painfully caught himself by the tops of his fingers on a small rock alcove in the roof. Lucky these are here, he thought, as he grabbed another and then pulled himself over to the hole with a hanging vine. Its almost as if someone had tried to escape before… With sudden realisation, however, it slowly dawned upon him there was no way he could start scaling the pit from where he was hanging. The only way out was to ride the platform he had first fell on as it rose to the surface… But it looked tricky. Chances are he'd miss, and that wouldn't be good at all... With one last yell, sonic swung himself forward, closed his eyes and began to fall…

A rushing sound had filled his ears; his body had filled with pain… Was that death? No, it couldn't be. Last thing he could remember was letting go, and… Sonic lazily opened one eye. Crisp sunlight flooded it, making him squint. He felt a slow rocking motion, as if on a boat… Slowly but surely, he opened both eyes, got up and scanned the marble zone landscape. Never before had he been happier to see this… He looked at the platform he was standing upon, floating around on a small bed of lava. It seemed the awkward and dangerous fall had knocked him out for a few seconds, but at least he was alive. With a small smile, and the happy fact he had two emeralds safe and sound, sonic hopped quickly off the platform, onto grassy ground and sped off on the run he deserved.


End file.
